South African stars deliver uneven returns in 2026 IPL

One needed off two balls. David Miller had been in that position before during this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

Against Gujarat Titans on 8 April, Miller, who plays for Delhi Capitals, had returned to the pitch after a niggle, with his side needing 45 runs off the final three overs.

In typical fashion Miller smacked the ball, striking three fours, three sixes and a couple of singles to bring the equation down to two runs off two balls.

With Miller on strike, a single would have forced a Super Over. Gujarat Titans’ Prasidh Krishna delivered a short ball, pitching outside off stump, but Miller decided not to take the run, backing himself to finish the job.

On the final delivery, however, he swung and missed, and Delhi Capitals lost by one run.

Ten days later, Miller found himself in a similar situation, this time against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Delhi Capitals required 15 off the final over. Miller missed the first ball but picked up a leg bye, while fellow South African Tristan Stubbs also managed just one run, leaving Delhi Capitals needing 13 off four balls.

This time, Miller redeemed himself by striking 6,6,4 to seal the win with a ball to spare.

Before the Miller glory, Stubbs was tasked with stabilising the innings. Usually deployed as a finisher, Stubbs had come in early after Delhi Capitals found themselves three wickets down after 2.5 overs.

This was only Stubbs’ fifth time batting inside the Powerplay since his IPL debut in 2022. He approached the chase with patience. After hitting his first ball for a boundary, he did not find another one for the next 20 balls, instead allowing teammate KL Rahul, who posted a 34-ball 57, to take the reins.

“I wasn’t quite ready in the changing room,” said Stubbs after the game. “Through the middle there, the way [Rahul] batted was magnificent. He really kept us going. And we spoke before as a team to bat in partnerships. So I thought, he’s going well, so just give him the strike.”

At one stage, Stubbs was 19 off 21, content to play second fiddle. He then went on to finish with an unbeaten 60 runs off 47, anchoring the innings and laying the platform for victory.

In his middle-order role, Stubbs has been one of the more consistent South African batters in this IPL season. This score against Royal Challengers was his second 60 of the season, following a 60 off 38 against Chennai Super Kings on 11 April.

This form has put him 19th on the list of the highest runs scored, with 196 runs.

Inconsistent batting form

Stubbs is one of only two South African batsmen in the top 20 run-scorers.

Heinrich Klaasen of Sunrisers Hyderabad currently holds the second spot, with 323 runs in seven innings so far.

He had topped the standings after the weekend’s matches, but slipped to second after the Sunrisers’ game on 21 April, when teammate Abhishek Sharma posted a massive 68-ball 135, moving three runs ahead of Klaasen.

Klaasen has also had a consistent run this season. Batting at number four, Klaasen has passed 30 runs in every innings, registering three half-centuries. His best was 62 off 41 against the Lucknow Super Giants.

Klaasen’s efforts did not translate into early success for the Sunrisers, who won just one of their first four games. However, with the help of Klaasen’s scores of 40, 59 and an unbeaten 37, Sunrisers have won the last three games, bringing them up to third on the log, behind Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers.

SA’s Quinton de Kock has remained the only overseas player to reach 100. De Kock slammed 112 not out in 60 balls against Punjab Kings in his very first appearance for Mumbai Indians, four games into the season, after Rohit Sharma was ruled out.

De Kock then replaced fellow opener Ryan Rickleton in their game against Gujarat Titans on Monday 20 April in the hopes of turning the team’s luck around.

Rickelton, typically a resilient performer, has struggled to string together scores consistently this season. In five innings, he has scored only 137 runs at an average of 27.40.

While Mumbai Indians did win by 99 runs, it was not due to De Kock’s contribution of an 11-ball 13. This was also only the second game they have won this season so far.

Also inconsistent with the bat has been South African skipper Aiden Markram, who plays for Lucknow Super Giants. His latest score was a sound 42 off 22 balls against the Punjab Kings, but it was not enough to overcome the table toppers.

His other scores this season were 11, 22, 30 and 12, sandwiched between his season-high score of 45.

SA bowlers on form

On the bowling side, there are three South Africans in the top 20 highest wicket takers of the season.

Nandre Burger, who plays for Rajasthan Royals, is straddling that 20th position with six wickets and an economy rate of 8.83.

Lungi Ngidi, lying in 13th position, has taken just one wicket more than Burger. Ngidi is finally cementing himself as a regular starter, having played all six matches – the most since 2018 when he played seven.

In Delhi Capitals’ first game of the season, Ngidi produced his best bowling as he took 3 for 27, helping his team seal their first win.

Lying in seventh is Kagiso Rabada, a key fast bowler for Gujarat Titans this season, with 10 wickets in six matches.

He has been dangerous with the new ball, striking early in the Powerplay, having taken two of his three wickets inside the first six overs against Kolkata Knight Riders.

He did the same again against Mumbai Indians on Monday, removing De Kock and Surya Kumar Yadav in the Powerplay, before adding a key wicket of Naman Dahir later in the innings.

That brought Rabada’s tally to six wickets across two consecutive games. DM